Medical sterilization apparatus



Filed April 12, 1967 STERILIZING 23 CONTACTLENS 23 INVENTOR. H.R. LEEDSPatented @ct. 21, 1969 3,473,886 MEDICAL STERHJZATIUN APPARATUS Harry R.Leeds, 250 Ashley Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 Filed Apr. 12, 1967, Ser.No. 630,421 Int. Cl. A611 3/00 US. Cl. 21-91 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Medical sterilization apparatus comprising a scalablecontainer for receiving the element, such as contact lens, to besterilized. The container is provided with a forceresponsive valve whichcan be opened to allow a sterilizing gas to pass into the container. Thegas is provided in a pressurized cannister having a force-responsivevalve which can be opened to allow the gas to lead the cannister. Thecontainer and cannister valves are so constructed that when engaged, thecannister valve first causes opening of the container valve, which thencauses opening of the cannister valve allowing the gas to flow directlyfrom the cannister into the container.

This invention relates to medical sterilization apparatus.

There is a need in the art for portable apparatus of small size andweight by which medical elements, instruments, apparatus and the likecan be readily sterilized. A case in point is contact lens, which shouldbe removed each night and sterilized prior to reuse the following day.Present techniques of boiling in Water or immersion in sterilizing fluidare cumbersome and unreliable. Ethylene oxide is known as a sterilizinggas which when maintained in contact with the element to be sterilizedfor a minimum length of time will produce the degree of sterilizationrequired, but there are unavailable in the art any convenientinexpensive apparatus for obtaining the required time of contact.

The chief object of the invention is sterilization apparatus which canbe manufactured at low cost and in small size and which will enable thesterilizing gas to be readily brought into total contact with theelement to be sterilized and maintained in contact for the time requiredto obtain the degree of sterilization required.

This and other objects of the invention are achieved with a novelsterilization apparatus comprising a pressurized cannister of thesterilizing gas and a scalable container for receiving the element to besterilized, The container and cannister are provided with valvesconstructed to engage one another in such manner that the containervalve is opened prior to opening of the cannister valve so that thesterilizing gas can flow directly from the pressurized cannister intothe container. A further feature of the invention is a wall constructionof the container which indicates when a sufiicient quantity of thesterilizing gas has been introduced.

The invention will now be described with greater detail in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, wherein: FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional viewof one form of the apparatus in accordance with the invention; FIG. 2 isa top view of the container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows the container and pressurized cannister of one form ofsterilization apparatus in accordance with the invention. The cannister1 and container 20 are both shown in cross-section in the pre-engagementposition. Both devices are circular-symmetric and are drawnapproximately to scale. The cannister 1 comprises a metal housing 2containing ethylene oxide sterilizing gas 3 under pressure. It includesa force-responsive valve 4 including a nozzle 5 having a tubular channel6 for flow of the gas 3. The end of the nozzle 5 is slotted 7 to allowthe gas to flow out. Movable within the channel 6 is a cylindricalpiston or pin 8 which is enlarged at its top end to form an annulartapered sealing rim 9 and a recess 10 for receiving one end of a heavycompression spring 11. The sealing rim 9 bears against an annular gasket12 of soft metal, such as lead or aluminum, which is non-permeable tothe gas. The gasket 12 is secured in place by a holder 13 which is forcefitted into the nozzle 5 which seals oif the end of the can 2. Theholder 13 also serves to support the other end of the spring 11. A hole14 in the holder 13 allows the gas to flow out. Grooves 15 in the insidewalls of the nozzle 5 allow the gas to flow out when the pin is pushedinward. Normally, the spring 11 force urges the sealing rim 9 againstthe gasket 12 confining the gas within the cannister 1. Should the pinbe pushed inward, the gas will flow out under pressure through thechannel 6.

The container 20 comprises a housing 21, for example of glass or metal,with a lid 22. The rim of the housing is threaded and the rim of the lid22 is likewise threaded so the parts may be separated, the element, suchas contact lens 23, placed within the container 20, and the lid screweddown tight sealing the interior by means of a non-permeable gasket 24 ofa soft metal. Alternatively, the lenses may also be held in a plasticcontainer which is gas permeable to facilitate handling, and the plasticcontainer placed within the container 20. Secured as by welding to thelid 22 is a valve assembly 25. It comprises, similarly to the valve 4 ofthe cannister 1, a housing member 26 to which is secured as by threadsor press-fitted for example a spring holder 27 whose upper rim sealinglyengages a non-permeable soft metal gasket 28. Within the valve issimilarly arranged a slideable piston or pin 29 having an annularsealing rim 30 also engaging the gasket 28. A light compressive spring31 is mounted between the pin 29 and the holder 27 and urges the pinagainst the gasket 28 to seal off the container interior. Mounted insidethe gasket is a second resilient gasket 32, which may be of rubber, forengaging the nozzle 5 on the cannister.

The operation of the assembly is evident from the drawing. The cannister1 is moved downward. The nozzle end 5, which has an outside diameterwhich will engage the rubber gasket 32 to seal oif the outside and aninside diameter which will receive the container pin 29, which has thesame diameter as the cannister pin 8, is further dimensioned so that thepins 8 and 29 engage after the nozzle 5 engages the rubber gasket 32 andbefore the slotted end 7 engages the pin shoulder 33. Since the spring31 is lighter than the spring 11, further downward movement of thecannister 1 pushes the pin 29 down opening the container valve 25. Thepin body 34 will move downward until stopped by the holder 27. Furtherdownward movement of the cannister 1 will then urge its pin 8 upwardopening its valve and allowing the pressurized gas to flow from thecannister 1 through both valves directly into the container 20. Thedownward movement of the cannister 1 is stopped when the nozzle end 7engages the pin shoulder 33. The gas from cannister 1 will enter andfill container 20 until the pressures in the two are equalized or thecannister pressure is continued until the desired gas pressure isestablished within the container 20, which can be determined byexperience.

A further feature of the invention is to make the lid 22 flexible sothat it will bulge when the required pressure is attained giving avisual indication. This is conveniently accomplished by formingcorrugations in the sheet metal lid 22 to give it the requiredflexibility to allow it to bulge under pressure, which corrugations areillustrated at 35 in FIG. 2. When the lid bulges, the cannister 1 iswithdrawn closing first its valve 4 and then the container valve 25resealing both devices automatically.

The construction shown will maintain the contact lens 23 in thesterilizing gas atmosphere for sufiicient time to allow adequatesterilization. By manually depressing pin 29 the gas is allowed toescape from container 20 and the lid 22 can be easily removed. If gasket28 is fabricated from a material which is permeable to the sterilizinggas, leakage through the seal will occur albeit at a slow rate, andafter a period of several hours the gas pressure will reduce allowingthe lid 22 to be removed for withdrawing the now-sterilized contactlens. It is understood that other sterilizing gasses, vapors, orsuspensions under pressure can obviously be substituted for the ethyleneoxide. If desired, a cover can be provided over the valve assembly 25 tomaintain same in a clean condition.

While I have described my invention in connection with specificembodiments and applications, other modifications thereof will bereadily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Medical sterilization apparatus comprising, in combination: ascalable container including a housing and a removable lid, saidcontainer comprising a valve assembly releasibly sealing the containerinterior, said container valve including a movable piston having anenlarged portion with an annular sealing rim and an annular sealinggasket, the annular sealing rim of said movable piston engaging theannular sealing gasket when the piston occupies a first sealing positionsealing the container interior, said piston being movable to a secondopen position for receiving a sterilizing medium into the containerinterior, container resilient means located in the container valveassembly for urging the container piston into its first sealingposition; and a pressurized cannister containing a sterilizing mediumunder pressure, said cannister comprising a valve assembly adapted toengage the container valve and releasibly sealing the cannisterinterior, said cannister valve including a movable piston having anannular sealing rim and an annular sealing gasket, the annular sealingrim of said cannister piston engaging the cannister annular sealinggasket when the cannister piston occupies a first sealing positionsealing off the cannister interior, said piston being movable to asecond open position for releasing the sterilizing medium, cannisterresilient means urging the cannister piston into its first sealingposition, said cannister resilient means being stiffer than thecontainer resilient means; and means operative when the cannister andcontainer valves are engaged for first moving the container piston fromthe first to the second position and for later moving the cannisterpiston from the first to the second position, said last-named meansincluding a nozzle portion on the cannister valve assembly andsurrounding its piston, means for arresting the inward movement of thecontainer piston, and gasket means for sealing the nozzle to thecontainer valve assembly.

2. Medical sterilization apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein thecontainer valve comprises an opening in its wall surrounding its piston,for receiving the cannister nozzle, the gasket for sealing the nozzle tothe container valve is mounted on the valve wall surrounding the openingand extends toward the piston, said last-named gasket has an internaldiameter slightly smaller than the external diameter of the nozzle, andthe nozzle has an internal diameter for receiving the container piston.

3. Medical sterilization apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein theend of the nozzle is grooved, and the container and cannister pistonshave the same external diameter.

4. Medical sterilization apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein thecontainer valve assembly is mounted in the center of the removable lid,and the lid regions surrounding the valve assembly are corrugatedconstituting a flexible wall enabling it to bulge when the internalcontainer pressure is increased.

5. Medical sterilization apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein bothannular sealing gaskets are of soft metal.

6. Medical sterilization apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein thesterilizing medium is ethylene oxide gas. and the pistons and nozzle aredimensioned such that the pistons engage and activate one another beforethe nozzle end engages the enlarged portion of the container piston.

7. Medical sterilization apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein thecontainer valve assembly comprises a projecting housing having anopening in a wall portion thereof and within the assembly behind thewall portion the annular sealing gasket surrounding but spaced from theopening, the piston of the container valve comprises an elongated pinaccessible through the said opening and having an enlarged portionforming the sealing rim, a second resilient gasket is located behind thesaid wall portion adjacent the opening, the cannister valve assemblycomprises a nozzle having a diameter smaller than the opening in thesaid wall portion but larger than the internal diameter of the secondresilient gasket whereby it will sealingly engage the second gasket whenthe nozzle is pushed through the said opening causing the pistons toengage one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,194,004 3/ 1940 Bukolt.

2,894,844 7/1959 Shakman 220-66 XR 2,965,936 12/1960 Kaye 21-913,037,656 6/1962 Humphrey 220-66 XR 3,057,537 8/1962 Pollick 22066 XR3,114,599 12/1963 Fanning 21-98 2,565,872 8/1951 Melsheimer 14l35l3,216,466 11/1965 Simko 222--3 XR 3,402,747 9/1968 Tissot-Dupont 141-352FOREIGN PATENTS 1,001,332 1965 Great Britain.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner D. G. MILLMAN, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

